Premier League Gameweek 14: Champs and Chumps

We analyse the very best and worst of the Premier League’s fantasy performers for Gameweek 14.

Champs

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)

PlayON Price: £14.8m

PlayON Points: 5,250

Should he stay fit, Alexis Sanchez could very well power Arsenal to a Premier League title.

Nobody in the league is playing with the same energy and all-round drive as the Chilean and he showed that once again on Saturday with a masterful hat-trick against West Ham.

After leading Arsenal to the 5-1 victory away to the Hammers, Sanchez now sits top of the Premier League scoring charts alongside Diego Costa with an 11 goal haul. With Stoke and Everton on the horizon, Sanchez could be in line to pull out ahead.

Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur)

PlayON Price: £12.1m

PlayON Points: 4,450

Christian Eriksen had come in for some criticism at times this term, and he more than any other Spurs player, appeared unable to lift his game to the lofty standards of last season. That all changed in Gameweek 14 as the Dane provided a masterclass in midfield play and certainly nudged his name into fantasy football consideration for the busy winter period.

In a 5-0 demolition of Swansea, Eriksen struck the net twice and played creator to boot. Among midfield players, the 24 year old stood out in Gameweek 14 for two reasons. No player in his position had more goal attempts – seven – nor created chances with as much frequency as he laid on an opportunity every 13 minutes. Spurs face Manchester United next weekend, but having already scored against Chelsea last weekend, the midfield man already has a taste for punishing the big sides.

Steve Cook (Bournemouth)

PlayON Price: £6.3m

PlayON Points: 1,725

The Cherries’ versatile defender popped up numerous times with important goals last season and demonstrated this knack once more in Gameweek 14. Firstly by levelling the game with a finish a striker would be proud of, and secondly by forcing clumsy parry from the Liverpool goalkeeper to tee up Nathan Ake for the late late winner.

He may not keep many clean sheets, but Cook has represented a bargain defensive option through goalthreat alone, claiming two so far this term and four in the league across 2015/16. Along with substitute Ryan Fraser, Steve Cook was the architect of this memorable 4-3 victory over title hopefuls Liverpool.

Chumps

Loris Karius (Liverpool)

PlayON Price: £7m

PlayON Points: 350

“In eight starts for Liverpool he has not shown me one thing to suggest he’s good enough at this level”. These was the scathing assesment of Jamie Carragher following Liverpool’s 4-3 capitulation to Bournemouth on Sunday, a game in which Karius could be held accountable for at least three of the four goals he conceded.

The goalkeeper has been a problem area for Liverpool for a number of seasons, with the likes of Simon Mignolet never truly convincing between the sticks. At present, Karius looks made in a similar mold as the Belgian and between the two have conceded 17 major goalscoring chances in 14 games. This damning statistic, Karius’ shocker and the absence of Joel Matip in defence all paint a picture as to how Liverpool surrendered a three goal lead to lose this game.

Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United)

PlayON Price: £8m

PlayON Points: -125

In the end, the Belgian giant couldn’t quite help himself. Since moving to Old Trafford under David Moyes, Marouane Fellaini has been used in a number of roles, but Jose demands one thing from him. Destruction. That plan backfired in Gameweek 14 as the ex-Everton man clumsily gifted his old employers a penalty and a veritable get-out-of-jail-free card.

The midfielder had only been on the pitch a total of three minutes before he bowled over Idrissa Gueye in the penalty area. Fellaini isn’t a regular for this United side but he ensured a middling record of three straight draws for his teammates.

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

PlayON Price: £15m

PlayON Points: 695

So often topping these weekly articles with his goalscoring prowess, Sergio Aguero this time finds himself in the comprising Chumps list.

The Argentine was sent off in the dying moments of stoppage time for a rash, two footed scissors kick lunge on David Luiz. This dismissal and the subsequent four game suspension will hit City and his raft of fantasy selectors – over a third of managers in the FPL format – extremly hard. Despite the way it ended, Aguero was one of City’s better players on the day and tested the opposition goalkeeper on three occasions. But for all his touches in the area – 11, second only to Troy Deeney in Gameweek 14 – the striker was unable to breakt hrough Chelsea’s resolute backline and frustration boiled over. Going forward, Kelechi Iheanacho will most likely be the man to fill his boots.